ARTICLES

"A Scientific Look at Alternative Medicine"

These articles were originally developed by Thomas J. Wheeler, PhD, for a course given at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. They have all been expanded and updated between 2014 and 2023.

NEW! Overview of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2023). Updated from 2013. Includes new sections on integrative medicine and functional medicine, and an expanded section on antivaccination efforts. See this page: CAM OVERVIEW. A pdf file of this article (60 pages) is available at this site: CAM OVERVIEW (pdf)
Chiropractic, Osteopathy, and Massage (2014). See this page: CHIROPRACTIC. Pdf file for download: see "CHIROOSTEOMASSAGE2014.PDF" file below (or on the CHIROPRACTIC page). Includes readings.
Mind-Body Medicine (2015). See this page: MIND. Pdf file for download: see "MIND2015.PDF" file below (or on the MIND page). Includes readings, and sections on placebo effects, hypnosis, biofeedback, treatment of autism, treatment of other conditions, and other unconventional treatments related to mental health.
Cancer and HIV/AIDS Therapies (2017). See this page: CANCER. Pdf file for download: see "CANCER2017.PDF" file below (or on the CANCER page). Includes readings and links.
Chelation Therapy; Allergy and Arthritis Treatments; Other Miscellaneous Topics (2018). See this page: CHELATION AND MISC. Pdf file: see "CHELATIONMISC2018.PDF" file below (or on the CHELATION AND MISC page). Includes readings and links.
Eastern Approaches (2019): Traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, auriculotherapy, moxibustion, cupping, qi gong, tai chi, Ayurvedic medicine, yoga, and others. See this page: EASTERN. Pdf file: see "EASTERN2019.PDF" file below (or on the EASTERN page). Includes references and links.
Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Energy Medicine, and other "Holistic" (2020). Includes aromatherapy, craniosacral therapy, iridology, reflexology, therapeutic touch, healing touch, reiki, and many other topics. See this page: HOLISTIC. Pdf file: see "HOLISTIC2020.PDF" file below (or on the HOLISTIC page). Includes references and links.
Herbs (2020). Includes general aspects plus specific information on 80 different herbs. See this page: HERBS. Pdf file: see "HERB2020.PDF" file below (or on the HERBS page).
Faith Healing and Other Topics Related to Religion (2020). Includes faith healers, Christian Science, legal aspects related to medical care for children, psychic surgery, healing places, and intercessory prayer. See this page: FAITH. Pdf file: see "FAITH2020.PDF" file below (or on the FAITH page).
Dietary Supplements (2021). See this page for all parts: SUPPLEMENTS. PART 1 covers overview, regulation and labeling, adverse effects, scientific critique, conventional nutrition, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and reviews of multiple supplements. PART 2 discusses 179 individual products and topics. REFERENCES gives links to more than 300 articles. A pdf file (120 pages), including both parts and references, is available at this site: Supplements2021.pdf
Diets and Weight Loss (2022). See this page: WEIGHT. Pdf file for download (39 pages, including references): weight22.pdf. Includes general aspects, critiques, adverse effects, and discussion of 23 diets, 60 weight loss supplements, and 9 other approaches. A reference section gives links to 77 articles.